This is the week that was

Rob Anders tried to implicate Thomas Mulcair in Jack Layton’s death. Mr. Anders apologized. Olivia Chow dismissed his theorizing. Peter Stoffer deemed Mr. Anders to be a “complete dickhead.”

Confusion reigned around the country’s food safety system as XL Foods was the source of the largest beef recall in Canadian history. Gerry Ritz declared his confidence in beef. Relevant budget cuts were tallied. The House considered. Kellie Leitch and Hedy Fry debated hygiene. Workers acknowledged concerns at XL Foods. Amanda Shendruk put the recall in perspective. And while the problems were enumerated, Ruth Ellen Brosseau petitioned for Gerry Ritz’s resignation.

Nathan Cullen struggled with the existential crisis of members’ statements and then the NDP tried to use that time to publicly shame Conservative backbenchers. Anonymous Conservatives were said to be restless. We deemed Jacques Gourde the Conservative Backbencher of the Year as Team Farce continued to add MPs to its roster. And Speaker Scheer struggled to enforce the rules.

James Moore put his foot in his mouth, but still tried to heckle. John Baird lectured the world (and Paul Knox was unimpressed). Bob Rae suggested the press gallery was missing a big story. Mark Warawa championed his motion on sex-selective abortion. Tony Clement took on the scourge of free parking. Justin Trudeau declared his candidacy (and Bruce Anderson was unimpressed). Mr. Trudeau tried to quote Goethe, but might’ve been mistaken. Thomas Mulcair ziplined with Rick Mercer. The NDP declared its opposition to the Nexen takeover. Rob Anders worried about bathroom access. Vic Toews cut prison chaplains. The House Affairs committee didn’t want to think about omnibus legislation. And Diane Finley tried to quietly fix a problem with the Harper government’s EI reforms.

Sheema Khan saw Omar Khadr as a test. Scott Clark and Peter DeVries considered the parliamentary budget officer. Stephen Gordon skewered a talking point. Susan Delacourt saw popular interest in Justin Trudeau.

And this week had four sketches.